Working outside with Grandma Glo...

Grandma Glo is always working and has projects she's doing. The kids (especially the little ones, before they're old enough to whine and complain) love to go out and 'help' her with her projects.

Jackson especially loved the tractor ride...

These guys hopped a ride in the back, best little buds:

This particular outing was to help grandma pick some peaches. She had a few that were ready.

It was a perfect day to pick some peaches, and don't you love how Taylor is still in her jammies! :)

Grandma's beautiful back garden steps:

Jackson's pose...

With Jackson's new found talent of crawling, he also started doing this yoga pose, as we liked to call it. He would do it all the time. I wish I had had my camera on me for even half of them because it was so funny to us all summer long. Every time I looked over at him, this is how he looked:

Here are just a few of the instances I got on camera:

But you get the idea...

He did this all summer long!!! :)

And I loved it! :)

zoo...

Oh man, the zoo this year was so fun. And that's a lot coming from me. I usually endure the zoo because I know the kids love it, but actually Montgomery's zoo isn't so bad. It's small enough that I don't feel like we're there ALL day, but it's big enough that it is well maintained. We got a trip in before Ben left,  and that is when the fun started. Everything is more fun when Ben is there! :)

We started out in the birdie cage (?) and it says not to feed them, but you don't think that stopped the Pyper's do you?

Love birds...

Sweet Noah and Cute Taylor:

Jackson loved all the birdies...

Elijah:

Noah:

Jonah:

Taylor:

Tucker: (I love that smile!) :)

Da boys:

Ben tried his darndest to get that Rhino to come over again like he had a few years ago when he fed it, but that guy was not going to budge!!!

Then we came to these guys. They were totally taunting and playing with Ben so bad. He finally started throwing crackers over to them, and they were all having a great time together.

There were a whole gang of them.

It was after this that we noticed that an employee of the zoo was following us around, presumably to make sure we didn't feed any more animals illegally!

Next up was the giraffes. We usually pass by the feeding station because you have to pay to feed them, but I guess since we were feeding (illegally) all of the other animals, we decided to go for the giraffe's too...

This guy was out of it at this point, and I was glad to have his stroller!

Then we came to these guys, and they were also taunting Ben. He has a way with the animals, and it was fun to watch them interact. They didn't get any food from us, unfortunately, because of that employee following us, but we did have fun with them!

Then we always have to end at their fun playground and petting zoo.

Grandma and our crew:

Our last stop before heading out is the Tigers, where we saw one of them bathing...

Then we saw him start to hunch over like he was going to attack the other one...

But I think they were just playing with each other:

My silly animal loving boy, Tucker:

We went back another time later on in our trip. Ben had already left, but his sister Terra had gotten there, so we were able to go with a lot more of our cousins. We decided to feed the giraffe's again since the Albrittons hadn't gotten to do that with us last time.

Jackson wasn't asleep this time and got to do it too, he loved it!

It is so freaking hot during the day's down there, that we frequently purchase drinks throughout the day while we're out. Taylor and I went on a drink run to get the adults a soda and the kids waters, and Taylor found herself a diet coke! :)

Lynlee and I decided to continue on Ben's tradition of feeding and playing with the animals and we fed and petted these little monkeys. They were so cute! :)

We're such rebels... HA HA

We did stop by the bird cage the second time around, too. But, to our disappointment there was an employee sitting in it this time making sure that no one touches the birds. boo!

Gma's Library...

The Pypers are definitely a family of readers. Every single one of them. My mother in law is a librarian at a private school in Montgomery, and has been there for years and years. We always have to make a library trip, and if it doesn't happen soon, most of the time, the kids start asking for it, wondering when we're going. I'm glad that they enjoy reading and getting the books so much.

They will sit and look through book after book, and each come out with a stack. It's a fun tradition during the summer. My mother in law is retiring this year, so it will be sad next year when we don't have this luxury, although, I'm sure my book loving mother in law will still find a way to get books to those kids! :)

Silly boys!

My big crawling man enjoying his freedom!

Pool time...

One of the most cherished activities of the summer is SWIMMING! I am always shocked at the lack of public pools down where it is SO hot. I guess most people have them at home. So, we usually go a few times to the Pratville city pool, but it is your typical city pool. Lots of times crowded, and not so clean. But the boys still enjoy every minute of it! :) One of these days we will start digging the pool at grandma's house that we have been talking about forever! :)

All of these boys are little fishy's and they are like peas in a pod, I love it!

Jackson liked it!!!

I don't know if it was new this year, but we just discovered a little splash pad right next to the pool. Taylor was dying to go over there, but this was about the extent of the time there, she immediately wanted to go back to the pool! :) Silly girl.

I think someone is starting to get some curls!

My big fat boy! :) Trying to get him out of the sun for a bit! I'm finally getting used to that HOT Alabama sun, and how it just seems to scorch us!!!

It's become tradition that grandma brings us Chic-fil-a as a mid swim break. I love me some Chic-fil-a and am still mourning the fact that we don't have one in Spokane!

Chewacla...

After we got into Atlanta and decided to just head to Montgomery the next day, Ben took the older boys in his car with his mom, and Lynlee and I took the babies in her car home. Funny side story, Lynlee and I took the little kids (whom were screaming the whole drive), of course. While we were driving south on the freeway, there was a car accident or something, we didn't know at the time what it was. So, we decided to hop the median to head back up north to the last exit we had just passed. We got off on the exit and headed west for a bit, we were going to find some back roads to get us past the accident and then hop back on the freeway. So, we headed west for a bit, then went south for a bit, and went back east to the freeway to see if we had passed the accident yet, and lo and behold, we were at the EXACT spot that we hopped the median at! We were dying. So, we waited and waited in traffic with a screaming Jackson all the while Ben sends me this picture:

They had stopped at a park and found this awesome waterfall to play in and lake to swim in! They had somehow bypassed the whole accident and weren't even affected! But...after receiving this picture text, I knew that we had to go back!

So, after Ben left to go home, and when we had time, we packed up the kids and went back for the day to find this magical place! It's called Chewacla state park, and it is beautiful! I can't believe I didn't even knew it existed, I don't know why we haven't taken the kids there before. My mother in law obviously knew it existed, I just don't think she knew what was all here at the park.

We parked and had to hike down a little to the water fall. Taylor in her hiking mode:

Some of the kids; Noah, Tucker, Elijah, Everett, Taylor & Jonah:

Finally we made it down:

It is gorgeous!

We spent a wonderful afternoon just playing in the sun!

Love my Jacksy's little face in this pic:

Trying to catch something, of course:

Alabama is so gorgeous in the summertime...

THEN...Tucker told me to come up to the top of the waterfall where the lake is dammed off, and there is a like 5 ft. tall wall where you can jump into the little man made lake on the other side. He said that his dad had taken him to the wall and they had jumped off it. I thought pshhh...I can do that, it's easy peasy! I've jumped off a LOT higher than 5 feet in my day. Tucker jumped and I froze! I can't believe how much of a wuss I am now. Finally, after a lot of coaxing from Tucker, I jumped, and we had such a good time together. :)

Here's the quaint little southern chewacla lake:

Had a little picnic there:

And finally got to do some real swimming...

The water was a little brown. But it was oh so warm, and nice...

Tucker jumped off the 12 foot diving board, and I was so proud of him. I definitely couldn't have done that, since I could barely do the 5 foot wall. All the little boys did it, and both of my sister in laws. It's kind of embarrassing!

Terra and Angelynna:

Jackson and grandma Glo:

Me and ma babes:

We had a great afternoon swimming, and were just about to head home when we realized that between Terra and I both driving her van, somehow we had locked her keys in her car!! We started out by asking near by people if they had anything in their cars that we could use. We got a hangar in their a few times, but could never quite get the lock opened.

Then the manager of the park came out and helped us for a reaaaaaaaly long time. No luck with him.

A few more neighbors try and help...

The boys played and played for awhile, but we were there so long, that eventually they ended up in Lynlee's car watching a movie. I'm not sure why we didn't think of it before, but we finally called AAA, and before we knew it, we were rescued, the van was opened, keys were retrieved, and two hours later, we were on our way home! yipeeee!!! It's always an adventure with this group!!!

At home at Grandma & Grandpa's house...

If anyone ever wonders where Ben gets his diet soda addiction, it definitely comes from his family and the way he was raised. He grew up on this stuff. Here is the house exactly as it was when we showed up:

A bench on the front entry porch:

The floor in the pantry:

And in the fridge:

And this definitely was one of the main reason's I also became an addict!!!  I can't help it, sweet sweet nectar! We start 'em young in the Pyper family:

The view from hanging out on the porch. I love my Alabama home!

Our little corner of home for the next few weeks. I love my in-laws house, and the love and comfort we feel there.

Some fun things that happened while we were at Grandma's house this summer:

I accidentally washed something red with my whites, and turned all of my whites pink. After many failed experiments, I finally found one that got my whites back white. I can't even remember what ended up working, my brain doesn't work sometimes, I swear, but anyway. The point is, is that SOMETHING finally worked, and I got my whites back! woo-hoo!

I love that my kids feel at home at their grandparents, even though we don't see them much. We spend enough time there during the summer and during the holiday's that they love their grandparents. We have fun just hanging out at home, which we do a lot because of the heat, or just because the amount of people that are all together, sometimes it's difficult to plan outings. And we just keep on growing and growing in number.

The play dough table:

The best thing for me about the south is the delicious BBQ. There are thousands of sauces, and thousands of different BBQ places to eat. Luckily for me, my father in law is somewhat of a connoisseur of the sauce, and knows the best kinds. His fridge is also stocked of a variety of flavors. And we always eat plenty of it when we're down there.

One of our favorite brands, the Nick Saban sauce. But shhh....don't tell my Auburn loving husband! :) My father in law said he saw this at a gas station in Tuscaloosa and had to try it. (He's a HUGE Bama fan AND Nick Saban fan) Brought it home and we all loved it. And then we couldn't find it anywhere! No grocery stores had it, he even went back to the gas station and they didn't have any more. So, he had to order it, but then found out that he could only order it at a grocery store. Had to go to Kroger and have the manager there order it for him, and so he ordered a whole case of it. We came home with about 7-8 bottles of it! :) ha ha. There was plenty for all of us! :) AND...all the benefits go to his charity, which I think is pretty cool!

We have another animal lover in the house. All of my kids are in love. The inevitable is going to have to happen one of these days. Don't be surprised when we finally get a dog!!

My nephew threw my other nephew's little hex bug nano into grandma's piano. If you know what those are you know that they run and run and run everywhere, and don't stop. And so it was in my mother in law's piano, we could hear it going all over the place and we'd try to catch it, but it wasn't easy because the space it was in was so small. We got out her marshmallow roaster sticks and put tape at the end, we tried to just jab it to kill it, but we could never get it, and sometimes we would and it would just end up on it's back and still wiggle around everywhere on its side or back. We spent like a good three hours trying to get this thing out. Finally it died and we couldn't see it anymore, so I guess it will be lost there forever! We were very determined though, as you can tell from the look on my sis in law's face! We had to be quick, we had to have light and we had to have the right equipment! :)

Reading in their bed's before bedtime. Using grandma's little hanging flashlights. These were a huge hit this summer, I need to invest in some more for when we go back.

Taylor cooling herself off during a park trip. It was miserably hot this summer, and the park trips weren't even fun!

Cozy in her bed at Grandma's:

The man of the hour this summer! Everyone loved him because he's still the baby. We'll see how long that lasts! :)

Taylor practicing some of her gymnastics moves on grandma's sink:

And Jackson playing with grandpa:

And playing with grandma:

So, one of the nights Ben was here with us (He only stayed for like 3 nights!!!) We all stayed up late to watch a movie (like we do most nights there) and grandma fell asleep. Ben thought it would be funny to paint a mustache on her, so he grabbed some make up. I can't tell you how hard we were laughing at this all night!!! Poor poor grandma!!! :)

Naked Jackson playing on Aunt Lynlee's I pad:

And giving grandma a foot massage:

This little mini rocking chair was one that my mother in law had when she was a baby, then Ben and all of his siblings had it when they were little, and now all the grandkids get to enjoy it. It is a perfect size for Jackson right now...

Piggy back rides from grandpa are the best!!!

My boys...

Playing outside at grandma's house is the best:

One evening the sunset was so beautiful, it made the entire sky a bright pink. I've never seen anything like it!

We love grandma and grandpa's house, and if you think that my recap for our summer trip is done, you're crazy! I've got lots more from where this came from! :) Enjoy!

4th of July 2014...

We flew into Atlanta, and didn't get in until like midnight. Ben told us that he hadn't wanted his parents to come so late to get us, like they usually do, so he had gotten us a hotel by the airport. We shuttled it over, and went up to our room, and lo and behold, his mom, sister and 3 nephews were all in fast asleep!!! He had taken us to their room, and our room was right next door. We chatted with them for a bit, and went to bed. We woke up the next morning with the plans to go to six flags, but Taylor started throwing up, so we decided to just head back to Wetumpka. I felt bad that Ben didn't get his six flags trip, I think that may be the only real reason he came! :) ha ha

By the time we got to Wetumpka, and gave ourselves a day to recover from traveling, before we knew it, it was the 4th of July.

Cute little charming Wetumpka has a little 4th of July celebration ever year. They have a big river that goes right through the town, and usually they shoot off the fireworks from the middle of the river, and everyone can watch from the banks and the bridges, but this year for some reason they sent them off from somewhere in the trees over there...

Jackson wasn't quite sure what to think of the fireworks. But he sure did love snuggling with grandma, and I'm pretty sure grandma loved the snuggling, too!

My best shot of the night! I love the reflection of the fireworks in the river and the people on the dock and in the boat.

The best part about the Wetumpka fireworks is that they are over in like 20 minutes, so we're not out super late with the kids.

After the show we went back to grandmas house, of course, and had to get a pic of the gang...

They also found some frogs which they were super excited about...

Alabama bound...

After Grandma Kelly's birthday celebration, we headed to Bama! Our yearly summer trip was about to begin! We didn't think that Ben was going to be able to come, so, like usual, I packed up and did EVERYTHING myself only to have Ben show up AT THE AIRPORT to surprise us! He told me that he was busy at work and wouldn't be able to make it this summer, so I asked my dad to take us to the airport. I checked us in, and the lady asked me about our other person in our party, Ben Pyper. I told her that he wasn't coming, and that maybe he originally purchased himself a ticket, but that I'm sure that he cancelled it because he wasn't able to come. I was still totally clueless. So, she told me that I should call him to make sure that he really wasn't coming because it looked like he was already checked in. So, I called him and I told him what the lady said and he assured me that he wasn't coming. I was waiting for him to come out any minute, and he wasn't and he wasn't. Then they started calling us to board, and still no Ben...

And, literally, right after I took this picture, and right before they called family boarding, he comes walking down the hallway!!! We were so excited, although I was a little bitter that I had already done so much work on my own that he could have helped me with!!! :) The kids obviously immediately got to work on their new little trinkets that I had gotten them for the airplane ride...

Jackson was so excited to be on the plane...

Our layover was in Chicago, and we had to stop and get some Chicago dogs. Ben was also showing off one of the many many loom bracelets he made on the plane ride.

This little dude was having a ball with his new found crawling skills...

I love me a good plane sunset! I've seen many in my day. Unfortunately, the camera on my phone sucks!!!

I wish the flight to Atlanta wasn't QUITE so long...but I guess it's a small price to pay...

Grandma's B-day...

Grandma had come up to see Nathan and Angie, and we decided to all go out to dinner to celebrate her birthday. Hu Hot is a family favorite, and that's where we ended up!

Selfie with my Carter boy!

Cute cousins! They sure do love each other!

Jackson eating a lemon for the first time. I got it at the exact right moment! That face! :)

After dinner we came back to our house for cake and ice cream, and the Maughans came over to celebrate with us!

Tucker and is Paola...

The birthday girl getting help with her candles from her two big grandsons:

Chase went outside and found our sidewalk chalk paint:

Eating their Strawberry Shortcake out side! Oh how I miss those summer nights!

Monday June 30, 2014

Oh man, how I love this chubby face! At papa's house hanging out with Carter and Chase who are in town visiting! We love cousins!!!

Starting to drink out of his bottle like a big boy, all on his own! Yay for freedom for mommy, sad for baby boy getting big!

Papa and Chase! Chase looks enthused, as usual! :) ha ha (Papa has enough enthusiasm for them both, apparently!) :)

Sunday June 29, 2014

Sunday, we got to go to a BBQ at my aunt and uncles house to see some of my cousins who were in town. Rachel is moving back up to the NW (yay!) and so is staying at her parents house for a few weeks until all their stuff gets up here in their moving truck. And Lori was just visiting with her girls for a few weeks. I love seeing my cousins, and having all of our kids play.

The kids picking cherries....

They opened up the pool for the kids to swim, but only my kids were brave enough to actually get in the water. Well, not brave enough, but crazy enough. For these California and Florida kids, the weather was freezing! And we were basking in the sun! :) My kids, being Washingtonians! :)

Tucker, the lone swimmer!

Playing croquet with Auntie Lorraine and Cousins Rachel and Lucy...

Two babies; Jackson and Eli...

Tucker loved all the attention from his crazy girl cousins!! :)

Sweet Eli:

Cute Uncle Leif had all the kids and they were loving on him:

It's so fun to have cousins in town!

I especially love the older ones who are fun to keep in touch with on Instagram! :) Love ya Lucy!

Saturday June 28, 2014

Now that this guy is crawling, having Scout here while the McLaughlins are in Utah for the week is an extra special treat for him! I'm not so sure that Scout loves it, though! :)

Those who know me know I love the cloud pictures! And Spokane has some beautiful sky! 

Our branch had an activity at the home of a family up North who own a family petting farm. It's like on your way up to Mt. Spokane. It was so much fun for the kids! (me, not so much...I'm not an animal person...) But it was still a beautiful summer evening, and we had a great time with friends. The downtown branch was also invited, so it was fun to see old friends!

Of course, Tucker's conjoined twin, Owen came with us! (and we wouldn't have it any other way!)

Taylor even got to ride on a horse for the first time in her life! She loved it!

She was very serious about her horse riding!

It was a just a gorgeous evening!

Ben, of course, had to get in on the action. GQ style! :)